KUALA LUMPUR: The FBM KLCI closed 1% lower on Monday after lingering in negative territory for the entire session on broad-based selling.
At 5pm, the 30-stock index closed down 15.16 points, or 0.97% lower at 1,549.18, its lowest since March 8. The index hit an intra-day low of 1,546.64.
A whopping 827 counters fell on the broader market while 183 rose and 333 were unchanged. Trading volume on Bursa Malaysia stood at 3.21 billion shares worth RM2.03bil.
Dealers said the sell-off is yet to show signs of abating and expect trading to remain volatile going forward.
Twenty-two of the 30 KLCI-linked counters closed in the red with only Tenaga Nasional Bhd, Petronas Gas Bhd and Dialog Group Bhd being the gainers.
Tenaga added seven sen to RM8.96, PetGas rose four sen to RM16.88 and Dialog climbed one sen to RM2.42.
Plantation stocks dominated the losers’ list on Bursa Malaysia. Bursa Plantation Index fell 281.67 points, or 3.3% to 8,251.43.
Kuala Lumpur Kepong tumbled 70 sen to RM27.30, Batu Kawan shed 62 sen to RM27.64, Genting Plantations closed down 47 sen to RM8.51, United Plantations fell 34 sen to RM14.72 and Sarawak Oil Palms lost 30 sen to RM6.16.
Serba Dinamik was in focus as it resumed trading today following a suspension of six months from Oct 22, 2021.
The counter, which tumbled 68.57%, or 24 sen to 11 sen, was the most heavily traded counter with 580.93 million shares done.
The proprietary day trading (PDT) and intraday short selling (IDSS) of Serba Dinamik’s securities have been suspended today.
Meanwhile, the ringgit was quoted at 4.3845, down 0.41% against the US dollar.
On the external front, MSCI Asia ex-Japan was lower by 1.44%.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 2.53% to 26,319.34 while South Korea’s Kospi index ended 1.27% lower at 2,610.81.
China’s CSI300 closed down 0.8% at 3,877.44 points while Shanghai Composite index edged up 0.086% to 3,004.14 points.
Markets in Hong Kong are closed today for a public holiday.